Office of the Secretary

As hurricane season approaches, state, federal and local agencies are working together to test the state’s Medical Institution Evacuation Plan (MIEP). DHH Secretary Alan Levine will hold a news conference on Thursday prior to the exercise at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport to discuss the state’s preparedness and the partnerships critical to getting Louisiana’s patients out of the path of an impending hurricane.

BATON ROUGE— As hurricane season approaches, state, federal and local agencies are working together to test the state’s Medical Institution Evacuation Plan (MIEP). DHH Secretary Alan Levine will hold a news conference on Thursday prior to the exercise at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport to discuss the state’s preparedness and the partnerships critical to getting Louisiana’s patients out of the path of an impending hurricane.

The Louisiana departments of Health and Hospitals and Environmental Quality are urging residents as well as oil spill response workers and volunteers to take the proper steps to protect their health from possible exposure to chemical, physical and biological hazards caused by the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Louisiana departments of Health and Hospitals, and Wildlife and Fisheries announced today they will be closing select fishing areas and oyster harvesting beds as a precautionary response to the oil spill in the Gulf.

Governor Bobby Jindal held a press conference today following a meeting with the Unified Command Group to give an update on the state’s actions in response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Earlier in the day, Governor Jindal visited the Coast Guard Command Center in Houma for a briefing on the oil spill and then he joined Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry and BP executives for a flyover of the oil spill area in the Gulf. At the press conference, Governor Jindal emphasized the state’s continued monitoring of the oil spill in the Gulf and preparations for any potential effects on Louisiana’s coastline in the coming days.

BATON ROUGE—Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine and Attorney General Buddy Caldwell announced today that Louisiana’s crackdown on Medicaid fraud is showing results for taxpayers.